


the worst of you gets the best of me

by xxcaribbean



Category: One Direction (Band), Real Person Fiction
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Angst, Derogatory Language, Fluff, M/M, protective!liam, vulnerable!zayn, ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-09
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-28 19:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxcaribbean/pseuds/xxcaribbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because Liam's not stupid and understands the fact that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than Zayn's willing to admit. Thing is, with a little time, everything begins to make sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the worst of you gets the best of me

**Author's Note:**

> the setting for the story, the bookshop, the little piece of information found in the chapter about the building is real and resides in my town. it's a [lilac opera house](http://25.media.tumblr.com/30efe4bb136ac19835a20a8f4f62d9ce/tumblr_mhyzbotCQb1qhugsyo1_1280.jpg) that sits on the town's square, and it's one of my favorite places to go.

Liam first meets him is when he’s behind the cash register and the lad steps up to the counter and asks him a simple question.

“Where are your books on English?”

And Liam thinks it’s a bit odd because well, he’s not trying to say that the guy in front of him _can’t_ speak English, because it’s clear that he can, but if he’s looking for books for school, he looks a little young to be in college (unless he’s just very, very interested in the language, but if Liam’s honest, there’s nothing special about their vernacular, no matter which way any of them look at it.)

Which is why Liam only works here at the local discount book store and isn’t paid to ask questions that are certainly none of his business.

“Well,” he starts. He nods over in the opposite direction of where they’re at, at a set of stairs just across the room. “Up those steps and on the left, there’s about five or six shelves worth of books, all on English.”

The guy nods, gives him a small smile and walks away from Liam without another word, and Liam’s forced to go back to reading his own book because the shops a bit slow for a Friday evening despite the activity going on outside.

He looks out of the windows though, spots groups of people that are all dressed up and Liam knows they’re heading over to the bar just next door to this place. He’ll be able to hear the majority of the crowd in an hour’s time through the wall of the building since it gets so loud.

Harry, one of the bartenders, tries to keep it down knowing that Liam’s not one for noise, but Liam gets it. It’s a bar and people are drinking and even if Harry promises time and time again that it won’t get overbearingly rambunctious, it always does.

Though really, that’s not what Liam tends to complain about; it’s the fact that he always gets the crap shifts at work, the days where everyone’s out having a good time and business is slow. And damn it, he’s young and should be allowed to go out with all those bar patrons too, sit down at a stool and have Harry fix him drink after drink while making stupid jokes with Niall and betting on who can hold their liquor the best.

But no, he’s stuck here in a brightly lit, old, dusty bookshop that sells things that are way out of date and where people tend to come when they want to read a book without paying for it.

Liam can’t also help but take into account the smell. He’s sure he’s developed allergies just from working here; it’s that bad.

“This is all.”

The voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and Liam has the decency to blush at himself for staring off into space, most likely looking like an idiot completely zoned out and not having heard his intended customer come back around.

“Great.”

Liam picks up the books, rings them up on the register while the other lad pays with cash, and that’s that. The man leaves with a small smile gracing his features, the bell above the chiming, and then Liam’s alone again in the too quite building full of books that probably won’t ever find a home again.

x.x.x.x

It becomes a routine thing; Liam notices that the lad he’d met only a few weeks ago comes in any time Liam’s working the store. The thing is, Liam doesn’t really know if it’s just coincidence or not. He’s even asked Sara about him, another store employee, but she’d only shaken her head and told him she hadn’t seen anyone like that come around before, but if she did, she’d let him know.

She’d also been nosy and asked what Liam wanted with the guy, but he honestly hadn’t had an answer for her and gave her a _just curious_ for a response.

Because that was the truth then as much as it is now. It wasn’t like the guy was questionable or anything, but Liam felt like a dark, heavy cloud rested above his head anytime Liam saw him, and it made him wonder if he was truly sensing something off about the lad or if maybe his intuition was wrong.

Regardless, Liam doesn’t ask about anything other than how he’s doing and if he’s having a nice day, and even then, it doesn’t seem like they’re moving any further than the occasional greetings. It’s not like this guy owes Liam anything either but he’d figured he’d introduce himself by now. He’s the friendly stranger that manages to give Liam a smile regardless of how torn he looks.

It makes his day, if Liam’s honest, and people just don’t have too much common courteously anymore.

“What’s your name?”

His bottom lip finds itself trapped between his top teeth, pulling on it like he should’ve kept his mouth shut, but the other lad only blinks up at him and whispers, “Zayn.”

So Liam nods and feels horrible, like he broke some silent agreement they had between them.

“I’m Liam,” he says and regrets even saying anything at all because of the look on Zayn’s face. “Sorry. You’re in here quite a bit, and I don’t know your name, and I just thought it’d be nice to greet you by that than asking you about how nice the weather is and stupid conversation, which really, it isn’t all that stupid that I’m talking with you about the miniscule things because apparently you don’t mind since you go along with it, and that was probably more than you wanted to hear so I’m going to shut up now and let you be on your way.” Liam lets out a hesitant laugh before shaking his head and taking Zayn’s cash. “Have a nice day.”

And when Zayn’s gone, Liam slumps against the counter and thinks about how much of an idiot he is. He wouldn’t be surprised if Zayn doesn’t come back because really, that would be Liam’s luck, the very kind that Liam’s never had much of.

x.x.x.x

The next two weeks pass by slowly for Liam and the building that contains white-washed walls (some places look a bit moldy and yellow but after questioning the owner of the establishment that one time, he’s learned to keep his mouth shut on certain things and ignore them instead), more books (and vhs tapes and vinyl’s) than he knows what to do with, is slowly driving him insane.

Liam started this job about seven months ago because it was the only thing that had flexible hours considering his school schedule, where the pay was crap but kept him close to home so that he didn’t have to pay for any more gas than what he used for getting to classes.

It helped in the long run with his bills and the like, and while it meant a little extra money in his pocket for things, it grew tiresome after a while given that fact that when he’s not in school, he’s working in this dingy place and not actually out spending his cash on things he’d like to enjoy.

And right now a beer sounds oh so wonderful. Thing is, he could definitely call Harry and have him bring him one, so Liam can sip on it in the shop and hide it away in case a customer comes in, but that’s not very practical either if he wants to relax. So instead, Liam decides he’ll close the shop early. It’s something he rarely does, but when he does do it, he makes sure it’s for good reason.

And he thinks he has a very good reason. Zayn hadn’t been by since he’d asked him his name; he’s probably failing at least two of his classes and there’s the fact that it’s a Friday night and Liam’s sick of being cooped up in here while the music and the loud voices from the bar next door crowd into his area and disturb him while he’s trying to busy himself.

An hour before close is when Liam decides it’s time to give up and call it a day. He doesn’t think he’ll be reprimanded for it because it’s not like anyone else works the night shift with him either and they don’t really have cameras installed in the place (they’re fake, Liam’s learned, to keep people from stealing; it’s all about the illusion, his boss had said.)

So Liam grabs his jacket, stuffs the book he’s been trying to read for the past week under the area of the register. He pulls out his keys and makes his way to the door and just before he can get the key in the lock, a voice is calling out to him. “Liam?”

He turns to his right, the opposite side of the store, away from the bar and Liam suddenly feels like he’s stuck in the middle. Does he choose the bar or does he walk over to Zayn who’s already jogging on over?

“You’re leaving?”

“Uh,” Liam looks down at his hands, how they’re resting on the door frame and the lights within the building are all turned off. “Yes.”

“Shit,” Zayn says as soon as he gets closer to Liam. He doesn’t look out of breath and Liam just wants to know what’s going on. The activity near the bar is calling his name.

“Can I do something for you?”

“You’re already locking up. It’s fine.”

“Well, you obviously need something, right?”

Zayn shrugs, gives a sheepish smile too before Liam’s sighing and opening the doors. “C’mon.”

Zayn beams at him with a smile so wide and teeth really white that Liam can’t help but think he won’t miss the alcohol too much if he gets to spend his time with Zayn (which may be an odd thing for him to say given the fact that he’s only known him for a mere few weeks and only by way of passing.)

“Is this okay though?” Zayn worries as he walks through. “You were leaving, and I’d rather not be any trouble.”

Liam flips on the lights and places his jacket on the counter. Zayn’s standing near him looking hesitant like he wants to take off to get what he wants but is waiting for Liam’s approval.

“Go ahead, it’s all good.” Liam motions him to get going and Liam swears he almost jumps at the command. He sighs though, and leans against the counter and waits patiently. He’s not quite sure if Zayn’s the browsing type of it he knows exactly what he’s going for but regardless, he’s going to have to wait.

The noise from the bar definitely comes through the wall as he waits, and Liam tries his best to tune it out, staring at the clock mounted above a hself, watching as the hands move one by one.

“I think I got it.”

Liam nearly jumps out of his skin, and Zayn looks slightly bemused.

“Sorry.”

“Warn a guy, yeah?” It’s nothing but playful, the side of his mouth quirking up.

Zayn doesn’t return it, but there’s still a twinkle in his eye as he fumbles with the two books in his hand while simultaneously reaching in his pocket to take out a few bills.  Liam watches as he counts them out before he sticks his hand out, wanting Liam to take the money, but he shakes his head, “Nah, don’t worry about it.”

Zayn’s brow furrows before thrusting the money forward again. “Please.”

“Zayn,” Liam says, and maybe this is slightly wrong of him but he’s already locked up the register and there’s literally nothing here to stop anyone from stealing anything anyway, and Liam just wants to go. “Go ahead and keep them; no one’s going to know, especially in this dingy place.”

Liam glances around the store quickly enough before his eyes roam over to Zayn who looks completely at a loss. His hand has now dropped back down to his side, and he looks dazed.

“But that’s not right.”

And sure, it really isn’t because Liam works at an establishment that’s trying to keep its feet afloat by selling things in return for money, but Liam thinks he can spare them both, especially with Zayn being a frequent customer and the need to get the fuck out of here.

“Go ahead and take them. Like I said,” Liam explains, “no one’s going to miss them and if you don’t like them, just bring them back.” He shrugs a shoulder, grabs his jacket and motions for Zayn to follow him to the front of the store. From there, he waits till Zayn exist the building first before doing so himself and locking the doors.

“Why?” he hears, but it’s like a whisper against all the noise that is coming just from the next place over.

Liam turns to Zayn while shrugging on his jacket, noticing that Zayn’s got nothing on but a t-shirt and a light sweater.

“Well, several reasons really. First off, they’re just books and secondly, I’m dying to get out of this place for the night. There’s a beer with my name on it,” Liam states, throwing his hand up to point over his shoulder towards the neon lights that highlight the bar’s name. It’s called _The Loophole_ , which sounds a little pretentious and more mysterious than what it actually is.

“Right,” Zayn offers, “then I’ll be on my way. Sorry for bothering you.”

He salutes Liam with a small bow before turning on his heel and taking off but before he can round the corner and disappear from sight, Liam’s calling out his name again, and he honestly has no clue what the fuck he’s doing, but he kinda feels awful for acting so poorly around Zayn, especially when he hadn’t seen him for two weeks straight.

“Care to join me?” he asks, biting at his lip as soon as the words are out of his mouth because it’s not like Liam doesn’t or hasn’t taken chances or anything with people he’s interested in…

And Liam’s interested in Zayn.

His eyes widen.

Well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed he was _decent_ looking, if anything, and maybe that’s exactly why Liam had been wondering where Zayn had gone off to the past couple of days.

Liam blinks, finds that Zayn’s taken a few steps back so that he’s not too far away to the point where he’d have to yell in order for Liam to hear him.

“I can’t,” he admits, and he looks so crestfallen, like he wants to join Liam, like he’s arguing with himself, listing out the pros and cons of hanging out with an employee at the local bookshop. But then he’s shaking his head, obviously having come to the conclusion that he can’t spare a moment. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

And Liam finds that Zayn tends to say that a little too much for his liking when really none of it’s his fault.

“I get it. Maybe next time?” Liam throws out the offer onto the table because he’d really hate to close himself off to Zayn, especially since this is the first night that he feels like he’s made any kind of progress in getting to know the other lad without actually speaking to him or hanging around him any other time than when he’s bought something.

So Liam honestly thinks that Zayn might be slightly excited and say a quick _yes_ , especially since it seems like Zayn looks so yearning to do so but then he’s speaking again. “We’ll see,” he says and is gone from Liam’s sight in no more than ten seconds.

He’s not sure what to make of that.

x.x.x.x

Liam now spends his Friday evenings working the late shift, as always, and leaving an hour early for the bar. He thinks this may be a bad sign that his job is forcing him into alcoholism, but he knows that Harry’s there for him, that if anyone would watch out for Liam, it’d be him, regardless of the fact that Harry rarely even looks out for himself half the time.

And it’s not like Harry gets himself into trouble where Liam’s having to watch over him too either, but he’s always had a following of people that seem to attach themselves so easily to his side. The thing is, Harry only takes to certain people and it’s no surprise that he’s got both Niall and Louis wrapped around his finger.

Honestly though, Liam doesn’t even know what’s going on with them, if it’s the three of them or two of them at a time. He’s not sure; he knows he doesn’t want to know, but their banter is what keeps him happy along with a fresh, cold beer in his hands as he sits at the bar and raves along with the rest of the crowd, some overly drunk and others participating in karaoke as most establishments that serve booze and are second rate tend to have.

It’s entertaining to the least, and it makes it a bitch of a morning to get up the next for work because Liam’s the fortunate kind, lucky enough to work late on Friday’s and work early on Saturday’s.

Though he thinks he should be grateful for Saturday because it’s the busy shift, especially in the morning because while he has to work, a shitload of people _don’t_ and that means a little bit more money in his paycheck and really, who would complain about that?

The thing is Liam’s never actually paid much attention to the things that goes on in the morning because there’s usually another worker here helping him out with the rush of people who feel the need to walk the town’s square and stop by this little hole in the wall bookshop. But currently, Liam’s the only one working today and he’s so out of his mind that he doesn’t’ t know what he should do. There are people who are asking where certain sections are (and he’s positive he’s given people the wrong answers to where they can find sci-fi books and romantic books given the glares they’d sent him when they’d had to make their way back around several bookshelves just to find what they were looking for) and those that are lined up at the register, waiting to check out.

And damn it, Liam thinks he might cry if the other employee ends up a no show because that would just end up making his fucking day. He doesn’t have a hangover to deal with today, thank god for that, but still. More people are entering the store, the bell chiming and incessant than anything, and no one seems to be leaving.

“You said you had this book in!”

Liam’s startled, frazzled even at the woman in front of the counter. Her hands rest just in front of her face, waving around and Liam hopes she doesn’t start anything.

“I don’t know what book you’re talking about, and I don’t even know who told you that either.” He’s walking on very thin ice, he knows, because this might just be one of those days Liam ends up with one of those crazy customer’s that Sara’s always warned him about. She mostly works the day shifts throughout the rest of the week, and while Liam doesn’t know her all too well, only from work and nothing even outside of it, she’s taken a liking to him just as he’d done to her since they’d first met, helping and warning one another when things with the boss got overly bad.

Mostly it’s gossip and talking shit about people (and definitely not anything romantic either because she’s got a boyfriend and while Liam thinks she’s pretty, she’s not pretty _pretty_ enough to get his attention) behind their backs because Liam thinks they have the right to complain, even if he does feel bad for it afterwards.

“The last time I came in, I specifically asked someone who works here,” she points out, sweeping her hand out to gesture to the establishment, “about _this_ book and it’s not here.” The woman holds out a piece of paper in her hands, directly in front of Liam’s face, to the point where he’s got to crane his neck backwards just so he’s not going cross-eyed.

“Right,” he starts. He hasn’t seen that book in his life and even if he had he’s not sure what section it’d even be in. “Well, I don’t really know-”

“It’s down that little hallway there, towards the back of the store near the records.”

And Liam’s head whips right around, and so does the lady’s, where he spots Zayn standing just a ways off from the counter, certainly not in line for the register, looking ever hesitant and rightly helpful all in one.

The woman looks at him though, eyeing him like she’s not sure he’s to be trusted because he’s a customer or he actually works here, but Zayn’s answer seems to satisfy her because then she turns back to Liam, looks down her nose at him before walking away in the direction that Zayn had given.

“Thank you,” Liam breathes. He gives Zayn a warm smile and as much as he’d like to continue standing there so he can glance at the other lad, another person is waiting to be checked out and Liam tries his best not to roll his eyes. “I’ll be with you in a bit, yeah?”

It’s a bit forward, Liam thinks after he’s said it, because maybe Zayn wasn’t there for him at all. Maybe he’d actually come back to find another set of books only to check out and leave again, but Liam can see the books he has in his hand, clutched tightly to his chest where his fingers grip at the spine. Zayn’s knuckles are white, like he’s got anxiety, and it’s the only form of support he’s got.

“Are you going to keep staring off or what?”

Liam mutters an apology to the stranger in front of him and gives them all of his attention until the rush slowly calms down and Liam’s only left with people roaming the store, no other employee in sight (the one who was supposed to show up never did and the very one he didn’t know the name of either considering Liam usually works his shifts by himself.)

“I think I should’ve waited to come in.”

Liam looks away from staring at the clock on the wall, again. It’s way too noise, even with the minimum amount of people in here, to read and his only option is for the clock to keep moving in order to bring him closer to freedom.

He swears he doesn’t hate his job as much as it sounds.

“Zayn, hi.” He grins because he’s completely forgotten about Zayn coming in earlier, and now he feels bad about that. “Sorry about that. I would’ve said something had I seen you come in.”

But then Zayn’s shaking his head and shrugging a shoulder. “S’fine. I didn’t think it’d be busy today, but I guess I was wrong.” He then moves forward towards the counter, takes the few extra steps to close the distance between himself and Liam, where he sets the books in his hands, the ones he’d been clutching at earlier, on the counter. “I wanted to give these back to you.”

Liam stares down at them, notices that they’re the ones that he’d taken just yesterday.

“Either you read really fast or you’ve got a guilty conscious?”

Zayn snorts. “A bit of both, perhaps? I read quite quickly, and I only got around to reading one of them,” Zayn points to a book with a white hardcover versus the one with a red cover on it, “because this one sucked, and I couldn’t finish it.”

“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind if I ever want to read…” Liam trails off and picks up the book. He’s definitely not familiar with it because honestly, reading isn’t his forte. “Is this about Greek Mythology? Weren’t you just in here wanting stuff on English?”

“I have different tastes,” Zayn says, defending himself. His arms are crossing over his chest now, and Liam hopes he hadn’t taken offense to what he’d said because this is some pretty heavy stuff.

“It’s cool. I mean, well, for people that are into it. Go you!” He gestures with his hand but drops it immediately when he thinks he looks rather stupid. “Reading wasn’t and still isn’t my best subject, actually.” He sighs and shakes his head and knows the statement and or question that’s about to come next.

“But you work in a book shop.”

“Well yeah, and it keep me entertained when the place is slow. You won’t believe some of the books I’ve found while looking around. I cringe when I think about them.”

It falls silent, but it’s not awkward so Liam ends up taking the two books on the counter and holds them in his hand until he asks Zayn what he wants to do with them. “What I said yesterday, you can keep them or one of them, the one you liked. It’s not a problem.”

But Zayn shakes his head. “Nah, I’m done with them and actually came back to look for something else so…”

“Right!” Liam suddenly remembers and feels stupid for keeping Zayn here for nothing more than small talk. He ends up turning around and placing the books on a cart full of books that have yet to be shelved. “You probably want to leave me now in favor of exciting adventures, so I’ll let you get back to that.”

Liam feels clumsy and awkward and mostly just out of his element for no particular reason until he sees that Zayn’s not moving away from the counter just yet. “Maybe, but talking to you isn’t all that bad.”

Liam’s eyes widen just the smallest amount and while he struggles with finding the appropriate words to comment back, Zayn’s already taken off without a second glance. Liam tries his best not to look at Zayn’s retreating form, but he can’t help but watch him climb the stairs and disappear behind shelves of old, dusty books.

He also wonders what Zayn’ll choose to read next.

x.x.x.x

Liam tries not to thinks back on that conversation with Zayn when he’s working on a random Monday night, straight after his classes. He’d only had enough time to go home quickly, shower and change before needing to get to work.

He finds that the guy’s been invading his mind ever sense they’d grown use to more than simple conversation, and Liam had to admit, it was more than nice to actually converse with someone than just the idiots he called his friends. They were more the party type than Liam was, really, and sometimes their antics left Liam on his own because there was no way he was falling into their brilliant ideas again.

The last time they’d thought of something _fun_ to do, it almost ended with them all in the back of a cop car. From then on, Liam sworn that he’s going to stick to staying safe and being left out of the shenanigans, forever being the friend who would have to listen to recounted stories of all the things gone right but mostly wrong.

Though as Liam’s conversations with Zayn grow, he picks up a lot of things he figured he wouldn’t have about the other lad, like as much as he enjoys reading, he’s also got a thing for art. There’d been a moment not too long ago when Zayn had come in, all starry eyed and dazed, where he wondered off into a different section of the bookshop, only to return with a book in his hand. From there, he’d set it down in front of Liam, flipped to a page and pointed to a drawing.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Liam didn’t know what the fuck it was. It was art, he knew that much, but Zayn just glanced between him and the picture, waiting for a reaction until he sighed and muttered _nevermind_ under his breath.

“Well, maybe I’d like it a lot more if I actually knew what it was,” Liam had said when Zayn closed the book and made to return it to the place he’d found it.

“That’s the point, Liam. It can be _anything_ you want it to be. It’s subjective.”

Liam didn’t really want to admit that he wasn’t quite sure what that word meant. He’s getting used to the idea that Zayn’s a lot smarter than him in pretty much everything. But Liam also notices that Zayn doesn’t belittle him for it either if he doesn’t know certain topics. He actually explains things to Liam until he understands, no matter how long it takes for it to register in Liam’s mind.

It’s become their little thing, and Liam likes it.

Tonight, however, changes things.

It’s not like it’s anything huge that happens either, but Liam’s certainly not expecting to find Zayn walking into the store, soaked to the bone. He must’ve dazed off if he’d missed the fact that it’s pouring rain outside.

“Get in here. Let me find you a towel or something,” Liam calls out, and when he does manage to find a little hand rag to give to Zayn – it’s really not much, but it helps to wipe Zayn’s face clear of any water – Liam then notices the finger shaped bruises that color Zayn’s jaw.

Only, Zayn doesn’t know what Liam’s staring at and gives him a confused look.

“What’s that?” Liam nods his head foreword, indicating the set of bruises as if Zayn’s supposed to know exactly what he’s talking about.

“What’s what?”

So Liam takes Zayn by the wrist (it’s the very first time he’s touched Zayn, and he thinks he likes the way his skin feels underneath his fingertips but at the moment he doesn’t it give much thought because he’s too determined to show Zayn what he’s talking about) and leads him over to a small little mirror hanging on the door that leads to the offices.

Liam has no clue why it’s there, but it is, and it serves its purpose as he moves to stand Zayn directly in front of it.

“What is _that_?”

And Zayn stares, a little too hard if Liam’s honest, at the mirror. His vision clouds over and he takes a step forward, turning his head to the right just so, eyes roaming over the skin that’s now a hazy blue and purple. His hand lifts up out of Liam’s grasp and he trails his fingers over the discoloration.

“Zayn,” Liam says out of warning because now’s probably not the time to get demanding, but really, this is the last thing Liam had expected to see.

“It’s nothing.”

It’s a lie. They both know it, but Liam gets the feeling that he’s not going to find out the truth, if ever. And somewhere deep inside, that hurts Liam more than he thought possible because those look like bruises formed by a hand that had gripped too tightly, one that hadn’t let go and held so much anger in order to leave marks behind.

Liam wants to ask again, but then Zayn’s pulling away, disappearing into the crowd of books and Liam’s at a disadvantage because he can’t leave the store front, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to find Zayn in all this mess. He’s sure the other lad knows way more about this place than Liam himself, all the nooks and crannies and hiding places.

Liam wonders if Zayn will disappear for a few days, only to come back with a smile as if everything was alright and like today hadn’t happened.

But it did, and Liam’s worried.

x.x.x.x

 He doesn’t mean for it to happen, but it does.

“Why did you tell me you _liked_ someone?”

Harry pushes his shoulder because the bar is near empty, almost closing time, save for a few of the absolute drunks who literally wait till they’ve got to be kicked out to leave.

“I don’t,” Liam insists.

“Oh, but you do.” It’s not a cackle or anything, but Liam’s very well aware that he doesn’t like Harry laughing at his expense because he’s oblivious.

Which, for anyone’s information, he’s not.

What he can admit though, is that he _does_ find Zayn attractive, but things are complicated, and despite their short conversations anytime Zayn decides to drop by, he literally knows nothing else about the guy.

And that’s fair enough because maybe Zayn’s already taken (Liam doesn’t like to think so given the fact that he still wonders about those bruises though he’s careful not to ask again; he’d like to believe Zayn just got in a fight, but there’s something that tells him that’s not even remotely close to the truth) or he could be the kind that likes to be single and only go when the opportunity arises.

But even if he were the latter, Liam wonders why he hasn’t caught Zayn’s eye then, especially since Liam’s acted like an idiot, all dopey and interested in an attempt to seem smarter.

That has always failed though; no matter how many times Liam tries. He’s never had much game.

“It doesn’t matter though, okay? Let’s just drop it.”

“Do you need help?”

Liam scrunches up his nose but then rapidly shakes his head. “God, no. No, Harry; you stay out of it. He doesn’t need to meet you or the other two.” Liam knows he looks panicked; it’s written all over his face because oh god, the thought of Zayn meeting his friends… well, Zayn probably wouldn’t _ever_ come back and as much as Liam likes Zayn, he’d rather stay friends than have no kind of relationship at all. “You’d scare him away.”

“Relax,” Harry says, cleaning off a shot class with the rag slung over his shoulder. “We’re not _that_ bad.”

Liam snorts which almost goes into full blown laughter if it hadn’t of been for the loud sound of _last call_ heard around the room from one of the other bartenders working.

“If I can help it, you’re not meeting him, ever.”

Harry purses his lips and debates on saying anything at all. “He’s not fragile, Liam.”

Liam doesn’t have the heart to tell him that that might not be true. He truly has yet to find out.

x.x.x.x

“So then what do you do for fun?”

Liam doesn’t know how to answer this because well, he hasn’t really been out _out_ in quite awhile save for work, school and the bar. He lives a sad, lonely life, he realizes, probably too neat and clean and annoying for others but he makes it through in hopes that something good will come along in his life to change it.

Zayn seems to be the good thing in his life, for now at least. Liam doesn’t want to get his hopes up too much just in case Zayn decides to exit. And it’s not that there’s any indication that he will, in fact, leave, but Liam’s learned a long time ago not to severely become overly attached to someone in fear that they may break a heart into pieces.

That happened once before, and Liam doesn’t like to talk about it.

“Uh, nothing.” Liam clears his throat and shrugs.

There’s a little couch over near the front windows and because it’s a slow day (and more conveniently it’s situated towards the front of the store) Liam can see if anyone enters or needs his help with something. It’s peaceful, for once, almost nearing the late afternoon where the sun’s just beginning to set but hasn’t gone quite yet.

It’s a bright day, where the wind whips around every once in awhile; the trees outside around the courthouse sway in unison with one another, and it’s just a pretty sight.

“That can’t be true,” Zayn contends. His posture is slightly rigid and he’s sitting up straight on the couch, like Liam might tell him to get off and Zayn’s only awaiting his command.

It unnerves Liam more than anything.

“Okay, don’t believe me. I’m telling the truth though.”

“Well, you don’t spend all your time here, do you?”

Liam shakes his head.

“And you went out to the bar next door that one time.”

“Only because I’ve got a friend who works there.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Zayn says, but Liam definitely knows better than that.

“Sometimes, only because there are free drinks, occasionally, but it’s annoying after awhile. If you stay here long enough, till closing with me, then you’d hear everyone through the walls.”

“That bad, huh?”

Liam nods, “That bad.”

It’s silent for a little while, just long enough for a customer to walk in and Liam having to wait till they’re ready to check out. Only then does he tell Zayn that he’ll just be a moment though the entire time he can feel Zayn’s eyes on him.

It’s only when he returns does he find Zayn finally relaxed enough and curled up on the couch with a book in his hand. It doesn’t look like he’s giving it much thought but flipping through pages and reading different, random paragraphs. Liam wonders if any of it makes sense to Zayn or if it’s a book he’s already read.

“What’s that?”

“Some book off the shelf.” Zayn nods his head over in the direction of the bookshelf sitting near the couch.

“Is it interesting?”

“I don’t know.”

Zayn’s impassive and trying to pass the time, and Liam suddenly wonders why he’s even here in the first place. He’d directly walked over to Liam as soon as he’d entered the store and made no indication that he’d be buying something, and while Liam’s enjoying the rather silent company, it isn’t hard to see that Zayn is hanging by a thread in which Liam had been avoiding to bring up.

It wasn’t like Zayn had a sign on him either, but Liam can tell that he’s just not Zayn, at least not the one he’d come to know. It’s not a significant _woah, who the hell are you_ type of deal either, but he seems to give off an aura of sadness.

So when Liam sits down on the couch, he sits a little closer to Zayn and doesn’t miss the way the other lad tenses up for a moment or two before relaxing, not bringing his gaze over to Liam’s and certainly not asking what the hell he’s doing.

He takes the opportunity to study Zayn further. Zayn’s fully concentrated on the book, still flipping through pages, and it’s the first time Liam’s seen Zayn in pale sunlight. The only other time he’d talked to him had been in the store, under florescent, yellow-washed lights and the evening chill of outside the one time Liam had wanted to leave the shop early.

But as Liam continues on looking, not even sorry that he’s blatantly staring now (and really, Zayn should be able to feel the eyes burning into his side by now, but either he doesn’t or he’s ignoring Liam altogether), it’s the first time Liam’s really taken notice of the imperfections on Zayn’s skin. It’s not like he’s studying the lad head to toe, deliberately wanting to find things wrong with Zayn (or that he hadn’t even been paying attention to the one person he’s grown slightly fond of in the last couple of weeks to notice anything else significant aside from his upfront features) but now that he looks, Liam sees the taught skin of his face, the bags held under his eyes and the way the veins stick out on Zayn’s cheeks.

He looks more than tired

“Are you okay?”

Zayn’s head snaps up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why would you ask that?”

Liam feels caught off guard with the way Zayn spits out the words quicker than he probably should’ve answered with. Liam also notices the way Zayn’s kind of twitchy now, how he eyes Liam with a distaste he hasn’t ever seen before.

“Hey,” Liam says calmly. “You look a bit tired, is all. Just figured maybe you had a rough night last night.”

And then Zayn’s features smooth over and the panic erases completely where his body relaxes and the corner’s of his mouth lose their lines. “Oh, right. Uh, yeah. Haven’t been getting much sleep lately, actually.”

Which would explain the haggard look, but Liam’s not sure if he can trust that answer because there’s no reason for one to be so uptight about a simple question.

“Then you need to be going to bed earlier.” It’s a half-assed attempt at keeping the conversation alive, but Zayn only hums in return.

“Maybe.”

They sit in silence the rest of the time until Zayn decides to leave.

Liam tries not to miss him too much.

x.x.x.x

“You should know these things. You _work_ here.”

Liam bites back a rather rude quip because really, even if he works here, doesn’t mean he knows the placement of every single book. It’s a fucking recycled book shop; they don’t keep inventory. Mostly every book is sorted by genre and then by author.

But, Liam doesn’t say anything, thank god, because he’s literally had enough of these people’s bullshit. They’re unappreciative little bastards and if he’s lucky enough, he won’t be closing the store till way after closing time, which only means he gets to stay here longer than he’s supposed to.

Oh the joys of being a poor college student.

The customer, or rather the potential customer, ends up storming off and Liam doesn’t feel the slightest bit upset at the fact like he normally would. Good riddance.

“You’re going to pop a blood vessel in your neck if you don’t calm down.”

Liam lets out a breath and finds Harry in front of the counter.  The bar’s closed today and so he has the day off. How lucky.

“What do you want, Harry?”

Harry pouts though because he can, and makes his way around the counter so that he’s on the other side with Liam.

“Mind if I join you?”

Liam raises his eyebrow because he’s already upset and he doesn’t need Harry’s random commentary in his ear. He likes to people watch, but really he’s mostly pointing out people’s taste in clothes, as if he actually knew what was nice. Harry’s mostly skinny jeans and a t-shirt, not much else if he can help it.

“Sure, why not.”

The day passes by slowly, even with Harry by his side, which is quite unfortunate because all Harry does is smile at people at the register, mostly the women (sometimes the men too, depending) and they’re left blushing and rushing to leave.

“We both know exactly what you’re doing, so stop it.”

But Harry feigns innocent and keeps on because more than anything, it’s entertaining although Liam tends to apologize for his friends behavior.

“A hour till closing, wooo!”

Liam just smirks and shakes his head. Harry’s flipping through a book now, and it’s nearing three in the afternoon. He’ll be off earlier than usual, but Liam isn’t complaining. He’ll most likely spend the rest of the evening with Harry at either one of their apartments with a bottle of jack and take out.

“Liam,” Harry whispers, and that’s not an uncommon thing either until Harry decides to do it over and over again until Liam’s turning around and facing him.

“What?”

“Is that him?”

Liam looks bewildered until he turns around fully (he’d been going through the books that have yet to be shelved and had his back to the store) and spots Zayn making his way upstairs, shoulders hunched and head down.

“Yeah,” Liam swallows, but he knows something is wrong. He’d failed to mention to Harry that he hadn’t seen Zayn in about two weeks time, not after they’d been sitting on the couch awhile back in silence and in each other’s comfort.

“Hey,” Liam says, before moving around the counter. “Can you handle the register if anyone comes in?” He backs up slowly, away from the front area of the store, not too patient enough to wait for Harry’s answer.

“Yeah, sure.” But Harry’s brows are furrowed, and he looks mildly concerned but isn’t asking any questions. It gives Liam the opportunity to finally go after Zayn for once and see what he’s up to.

Though too, it’s not like he has any right to that, but for Zayn to walk straight into the shop without so much as a hello, especially after two weeks of not seeing one another, Liam wonders if this has to do with Harry sitting by his side and if Zayn just got intimidated. He hopes that’s just the case.

Liam makes his way upstairs. He’s only been up here a few times but it’s interesting nonetheless. Most of the books are probably way outdated, but still used for research purposes. There are whole sections on language and history and the like.

Which is exactly where Liam finds Zayn. He’s sitting on the floor in a row of books shelves, a book resting in his lap but Liam knows he’s not really reading it. His eyes stay in one place; they don’t scan the page and his hand rests in one position near the book itself, not bothering to flip the page over.

“What’s going on?” Liam says, and Zayn is startled.

The book goes flying forward, completely forgotten between the two of them, while Zayn ends up moving backward so that he’s crowded against the corner of the shelves (the shelves are closed off at the end of each isle where they don’t open up because the wall is a home for plenty of books as well.)

“Zayn,” Liam says, and he’s worried because this is only an extension of some of the small behavior he’d seen in Zayn before. It’s nothing over the top, but it means something and Liam hates being left in the dark.

Zayn doesn’t look up at Liam though, he notices, until he begins to walk forward at a slow pace as to not scare Zayn anymore than he already has.

“I’m sorry about that. Harry saw you come in and you didn’t say hi, so I thought I’d return the favor and come do it myself.”

Zayn still looks down; his breathe is a bit off and it’s not until Liam’s impossibly close (he has lowered his body to the ground by now) when Zayn decides to look up at Liam, where Liam sees nothing but wet eyes and fear, along with a colorful bruise that surrounds his eye.

Liam feels… well, he feels a lot of things, sick and anger and so much more.

“You need some ice on that.”

But Zayn shakes his head.

“If you don’t it’ll swell up more and then you won’t be able to see.” Liam’s careful to keep his words friendly and not question exactly what happened, but the curl of protectiveness kicks into his body and all he wants is to wrap Zayn up tightly.

Maybe he’d been hazed, mugged on the street or something, but Liam knows that something’s going on and this only confirms it because there doesn’t need to be any words. It’s apparent, evident even in all of Zayn’s actions and while Liam had picked up hints before, he hadn’t wanted to assume anything.

“C’mon. You can meet my friend Harry, the bartender, remember? And we’ll get you some ice and some food. You’ll feel better.”

Zayn visibly swallows but nods before standing up on his own. He doesn’t move any more than that, not until Liam’s already making his way downstairs. He can see Harry with someone at the counter who’s just finished paying but other than that the place is empty.

Once Liam makes it to the bottom of the stairs, he waits there for Zayn. He can hear the clomp of his shoes on the wood (they’re old and rickety too and Liam’s surprised they’ve managed to stay up after all this time; no doubt someone’s had to come and replace them, and he briefly wonders when they’ll get someone in to fix it again.)

When Zayn reaches the bottom, Liam gives him a smile and motions for Zayn to continue following him to the front of the store.

“Hey, Harry,” he calls out. Harry’s anxious at first but smiles as soon as he sees Liam and his friend, though Liam doesn’t miss the way his eyes dim at the sight of Zayn, most likely to the rather large bruise covering his face. “This is Zayn.” He steps over to the side, gesturing to the other lad. “Zayn, this is Harry.”

It’s quick introductions but Liam gets the sense that Zayn’s still on guard and isn’t up for chatting, so instead he pulls out his wallet, hands Harry some cash with a pleading look in his eye (one that says _don’t ask now and I’ll tell you later_ ) and asks him to run across the street to the little family owned burger shop for something to eat and some ice.

During that time, Liam leads Zayn over behind the counter, where he finds him a chair to sit in while waiting for Harry to return.

“Don’t give me that look,” Zayn snaps.

“I wasn’t-”

“Bullshit, and I don’t need your pity.”

“Zayn,” Liam says, “I’m just… I’m _worried_.” Liam takes a seat himself, across from Zayn but not too close. “Fuck, don’t you think I have a right to be? We’re friends, and you come in here with a black eye. You should know that’s not going to sit well for me.”

Zayn licks his lips but the tension in his body doesn’t dissolve. Liam’s not sure if Zayn trusts him now.

“Look, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. It’s none of my business, and I’m not going to ask you about it if you’re not willing to give me an answer.”

Only when Zayn finally relaxes does the bell above the door chime, Harry’s voice calling out, “Food!”

They don’t eat in silence because Liam won’t allow that, and although Harry tries his best to include Zayn, he gets the hint after Zayn’s very few one word answers and gives up on trying to talk to him, eyeing Liam in the process. Instead of making a big deal about it though, which Liam is grateful for, Harry focuses his attention on Liam about random nonsense and in between talking and eating, Liam uses that opportunity to eye Zayn, to make sure he’s doing okay and that Harry isn’t running his mouth for too long.

He also, at one point, motions for Zayn to take the small bag of ice Harry had managed to get, wrapped up in some napkins, so that Zayn can place it on his bruise. The condensation soaks through a lot faster than necessary, and it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth, but it makes Liam feel better when he sees Zayn holding it up to his eye every once in awhile.

Eventually, Harry leaves with a goodbye to both Zayn and Liam and by then, Liam can tell Zayn’s itching to leave too. Liam’s not sure what he’ll do after he leaves though, but for now he settles on giving Zayn a polite smile and debating on whether he should try to talk to him again or leave him be. He’s never been in this kind of situation before, and Liam understands that he’s not really in a position to help someone other than giving the occasionally bit of advice-

“Liam?”

Liam looks over at Zayn and tries not to act so overly distressed. “Yeah?”

“I need to get going.”

“Oh, okay.” Liam’s expecting it, and it’s probably for the best given the fact that there’s only about ten minutes left on his shift and he’s done all he can do for Zayn because the other lad isn’t willing to give him anymore than what he’s already done.

Liam watches as Zayn walks to the front of the store and wonders if Zayn will disappear again. It seems as if he tends to do that whenever things he doesn’t like are pointed out or when he’s afraid of being caught, for what, Liam still doesn’t know.

“Liam?”

His name is said again, this time with a soft tone and hesitancy Liam would rather not Zayn have around him. He waits for Zayn to speak, not wanting to break the concentration that seems to permeate Zayn’s being.

“Thanks,” he says, looking directly at Liam with nothing but sincerity and appreciation.

Liam feels his heart swell and smiles in return. “You’re welcome, Zayn. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” It’s a question Liam would like answered, not really meant as one of those formal goodbyes that’s said out of being polite, but now’s not the time for him and his wants, it’s ending the day on a semi-good note.

“See you soon.”

And then Zayn’s gone, leaving Liam alone with his thoughts, and the hope that something’s changed between them.

x.x.x.x

“This used to be an old opera house.”

It’s small talk, especially after the last time they’d been together. It’s not that he’s particularly reluctant or diffident in talking to Zayn again, but he’s beginning to think that there are certain things he needs to be shying away from in terms of conversation. He’s only gotten cautious as of late, with these few incidents, but really, Liam just doesn’t _know_.

He doesn’t know what to do or how to act or how to be anymore now that he’s gotten closer to Zayn. He worries about crossing an invisible line, but Liam also knows himself and realizes how nosy he can get at times. It puts him on edge because he’s able to read Zayn’s body language so easily now that they’ve been hanging out for weeks now. He’s even able to sit in silence with Zayn without it being awkward or overly dramatic, but sometimes he thinks he’ll do something that’ll be the last straw and Zayn won’t ever come back.

Thing is, Liam’s sure how he’s feeling right now is only one sided.

But then again, maybe not. Maybe Zayn’s got his own reservations about Liam and trusting him. Obviously there’s a lack of it if he can’t even talk to Liam, but then again he doesn’t know how badly (or if it’s even bad to begin with) his situation is and that may make Zayn timid with everything he does in the first place.

Of course, he’s also shown signs of being brave or well, confident, if anything but it’s all around a very weird situation.

“Really?” Zayn perks up at the thought. His eyes scan the place and Liam can only picture what he’s thinking. He’s done it plenty of times himself, eyes roaming around the entirety of the building and trying to imagine what kind of people had been here previously.

“I don’t know much about it,” Liam shrugs, “but I know operas were performed, of course, but vaudeville acts too.”

“That’s incredible.” Zayn sounds like he’s in awe. Liam was too when he’d first found out. “It’s not very big though.”

Liam snorts. “Of course not; it wasn’t meant to hold a large crowd, maybe a few hundred at least.”

Zayn smiles up at Liam. “It’s history, and I wonder what kind of people came here.”

Of course the place has been here for years now and looks nothing like it probably had all those decades ago, remodeling and the like, but it’s still fascinating to walk amongst what was once populated by a different era and standards of morality.

Liam wonders if any of them would be proud of what it’s become now.

“And to think they all had their own stories.”

Liam nods in agreement and decides to pluck a book off the shelf in front of him. Currently, the store is closed and both he and Liam are sitting between random rows of book shelves talking. Zayn had told him he’d stick around till after closing, and Liam had found him sitting on the floor, reading a book once he’d locked up the place from the inside. He hadn’t bothered asking what said book was, probably something really smart for Liam anyways.

“I’ll be going to the bar after, if you want to join me.” It’s random and out of the blue, but the clock is ticking and Liam’s already beginning to hear the noises through the wall.

Zayn stills though. He doesn’t know what to say and his eyelashes flutter across his skin as he blinks down.

“You don’t have to, Zayn. I just thought...”

“I can’t.”

Liam wants an explanation, but he knows he doesn’t deserve that because if Zayn doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to.

He can’t say he’s not disappointed though.

“Okay.”

But Zayn continues on anyway because he feels like he owes Liam that much. It’s not like he’d been invited out anywhere else before, but he really, truly can’t and it makes him upset and angry. “It’s not that I don’t want to, Liam. You’ve been incredible, but I just can’t.”

Liam understands.

No, okay he doesn’t, and he probably won’t ever understand but it’s becoming fairly obvious that Zayn isn’t interested and no matter how much information he tries to gain, it’s just not happening. That definitely won’t stop Liam from keeping their friendship though. He hopes beyond hope that that’ll last.

“I’m not angry,” he mentions, but Zayn’s lips remain taught around the edges as if he’d done something wrong. “I promise, I’m not. We just need to have better at timing, is all.”

Zayn agrees with him before placing the book in his hands back on the shelf. “It’s late then. I know you don’t want to stay, so I guess I’ll go.” He stands up from his spot and looks down at Liam with soft eyes, fondness if Liam’s willing to admit. It only makes his insides flutter.

“Have a goodnight, Zayn, yeah?”

And the other lad nods, “Yeah, you too.” And then he’s walking off, leaving Liam with his book to place back on the shelf and to exit the store on his own.

It’s only around ten when he gets to the bar. He’d hung around the shop a little later than normal, counting the register and making sure there was enough cash for tomorrow, but now that he’s finally here, sitting in a bar stool and watching as both Louis and Niall occasionally flirt (Harry does too and Liam really thinks he should figure out what’s going on with the three of them, but he thinks he gets the picture right now.)

“Oy, mate, don’t look so glum. You’ll be alright.”

The bar is packed for the night, the bustle of people walking around and chatting fills the air. The place is full of a stale smell, of sweat and heat along with cigarette smoke that curls around the lights, all for Liam to see and experience.

“Up for shots?”

“Now?”

Harry shrugs and fills up another mug of beer before sliding it down to a customer several seats over from Liam.

“It’ll loosen you up some. You don’t have to get drunk.”

And Liam considers it for a moment before he’s nodding his head and Harry’s grinning and filling up two shot glasses full of the hard stuff.

“On the count of three…”

“Are you allowed to drink while working?”

Harry waves his hand away and repeats himself, “On the count of three, Liam.”

So he counts off and by the time he hits three, the both of them knock back the liquid, swallowing the bitterness that burns their insides before slamming the shot glass back down on the counter.

“Shit,” he says, throat hoarse from not having done that in quite some time.

Harry laughs then, raises his eyebrows and tells him he’ll be feeling something in no time if he keeps it up, which is true once Liam downs another two or three glasses. He’s buzzed by now and feeling relaxed more than he has been in the past couple of days. It’s a nice feeling.

“Oy, s’you, innit?”

It’s a random drunk patron, Liam’s sure, and pays no attention to it. He’s currently listening in to both Niall and Louis’ debating on something, sports? Food? Harry? Liam really doesn’t know and doesn’t care because then he feels a hand on his shoulder before being pulled back by his shirt.

It’s hard to find a sense of balance, but by now he can see his friends gaze on him, and he’s just as confused as they are.

“You been fuckin’ ‘im?”

Liam finally manages to get his bearings and pulls away from the grip on his shoulder, only to turn around and come face to face with some burly guy who’s clearly plastered and looking for a fight.

Oh god.

Liam’s heard about bar fights before, but he’s never actually seen one in person and the fact that this might just happen now (especially judging by the way the man’s hands are curling into fists at his sides) would be he’s luck.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

So the guy points over in another direction before moving back and grabbing someone by the wrist, and only when he pulls the body forward, like he’d done with Liam just moments before, does everything fall into place.

“ _Zayn?_ ”

It’s not to say that Zayn’s a coward, but the way his eyes do not meet Liam’s and the way the hand encircled around his wrist tightens, Liam gets the sense that Zayn’s more than scared.

“You’re hurting him,” Liam says. He may not know what’s really going on or who this guy in front of him is, but his main priority right now is _Zayn_ and _safety_.

“Little bitch _likes_ to hurt, doesn’t he?” The guy releases his grip on Zayn’s wrist, only to bring it to his upper arm, where he blatantly squeezes and Liam can tell the flesh there is turning white and red from the pressure that he’s applying.

The bruises make sense now. The skittish behavior makes sense now, and when he’d asked Zayn if he’d join him tonight and he said he couldn’t, it makes sense.

“ _Please_ let’s just leave,” Zayn says. He feels humiliated for all of this and put on the spot. “Please.”

And Liam’s heart breaks because that doesn’t look like it’s going to be happening, not if this man has anything to do with it. Liam’s afraid to call him anything other than a fucking prick of a drunk because he certainly can’t be Zayn’s boyfriend, who’d instill fear into someone by way of abuse.

Liam’s not having it.

“It’d be nice if you let him go,” Liam calmly states, “and leave.”

But the man’s eyes just narrow before taking a step forward. With one last harsh squeeze to Zayn’s harm, he pushes Zayn back so he’s stumbling before moving forward again.

“Oh, are you playing hero now? He’s a cockslut, and I bet you’d know it since he’s been running out and seeing you whenever he can. Ain’t that right, precious?”

Liam, out of the corner of his eye, sees Zayn shiver which only makes his skin crawl.

“So you’re the difficult kind then,” Liam muses, which earns him an eyebrow raise.

“Maybe I should kick you around a bit too.” At this point, the guy’s almost in Liam’s face, something he doesn’t appreciate, but it also gives him the upper hand in this little game because Liam sees the fist before it makes contact with his body, and he blocks it just in time to swing his own fist back and connect it with a jaw, a clear _crack_ resonating within the bar.

Liam doesn’t know what really compels him to do it at first aside from not wanting to be punched. He’s not violent, and yes, he’s skinny, but if there’s one thing people underestimate, it’s the fact that he’s broad; he works out when he has the time, and he’s used to defending himself in times of need (mostly when he was younger and bullied.)

By this time, the guy’s on the ground, completely dazed, and Liam takes his chance to lean down, hands curling around the neck of the guy’s shirt before lifted him half way up off the floor.

“You come anyway near him again, and I will _fucking_ _knock your teeth out_ , do I make myself clear?” Liam snarls, where his grip on the guy’s collar only tightens the way the other man’s fist had on Zayn’s body until the guys nodding and muttering _yes_ repeatedly. “Good,” he spits.

And after that, Liam doesn’t look back, doesn’t care about the scene he just caused. He takes Zayn’s hand in his own and leads him out of the bar, not worried about his friends or the mess he’d left behind, just leaves for the cool night air and for Zayn to get away from that bastard.

As soon as they’re outside, Zayn removes his hand from Liam’s and when Liam’s about to speak up and say something, anything at all to calm the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Zayn’s suddenly crowded around him, warm hands gripping Liam’s shirt, face buried into the crook of his neck.

It’s only a second or two later before Liam feels the tears. Zayn’s not loud as he cries, but Liam wraps his arms around his thin frame and kisses the side of his head. “I’m sorry, Zayn,” he says because that’s all he can, and Zayn only responds by trying to get that much closer to Liam.

In the end, Liam offers Zayn a place to stay for as long as he needs, until they can figure out where to go from there, till Liam can understand the entire situation.

And as he hands Zayn a set of clothes to sleep in for the night, Liam doesn’t miss the way that Zayn pointedly removes his shirt first while Liam’s still in the room, showing off the multiple bruises and scares that cover his chest. They ink his skin just the same as every tattoo Zayn has, and Liam tries his best not to see red.

“You’re brave,” he says under the thin veil of light in the room and with a thickness in his throat.

Zayn laughs softly, humorless in every sense of the word as he shrugs on Liam’s shirt, the material swallowing Zayn whole because of its size. “No,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m a coward for not leaving.”

A hurt noise escapes Liam’s throat before he’s walking over to Zayn. He’s got his shirt still clutched in his hand, his shoulders slumped and eyes downcast. Zayn hasn’t been able to look at Liam since he got here.

“Don’t do that,” Liam states. He can’t help but wrapping his arms around Zayn again, nose buried against the dark of Zayn’s hair. “Please don’t believe that this is your fault.”

“And yet these bruises tell a different story.”

Liam pulls back abruptly, cups Zayn’s face in his hands and adamantly shakes his head, “No,” he starts, and he can’t believe how one night has changed so much between them, more than any other time they’ve been together. “What those bruises are, are reminders that someone hit you and hurt you by no fault of your own. You don’t,” Liam swallows because he needs to make this clear to Zayn, although he’s sure he’ll be repeating these words often, “you don’t abuse someone you love, Zayn. You just don’t. You can scream and yell until your throat goes hoarse, but you _don’t_ lay a finger on them or cause bodily harm just because someone thinks they have power or the right to do so.”

Zayn’s trying very hard to blink back tears, and Liam himself even gives Zayn a watery smile.

“We’ll talk in the morning, alright?” Zayn nods before Liam’s pulling away and motioning towards the bed. “You’ll take it for the night. I’ll be on the couch if you need me.”

And with one finally smile, Liam heads out of the room for the sofa, deep in thought until he’s able to fall asleep with a heavy heart and bruised knuckles.

x.x.x.x

Liam ends up waking up for two reasons. One, the sun is bright and shining through the window and warming up his body, and two, there’s a body next to him.

He doesn’t move, but he quickly realizes that it’s Zayn by his side. His head is resting against the crook of Liam’s arm and shoulder, face buried within the material of his shirt while one of his arms is draped around Liam’s middle. Liam wonders what had happened last night to bring Zayn all the way in here, hoping he hadn’t had a nightmare and Liam just slept through it.

But they’re curled up with one another on the couch. It’s not very big to begin with, and half of Zayn’s body is on Liam’s, but he thinks it’s better this way anyway, that Zayn can finally trust him enough to feel like he can come to him now. It means the world to Liam, it does, and if he has to wait for those emotional and physical scars to heal before he’s allowed to show Zayn what love can be, what it should be, he’s going to do it.

Liam’s arm snakes around Zayn’s frame, pulling him closer and holding him tight. He can feel the lad’s breath against his skin, near his neck and it brings him comfort to know that Zayn’s going to be okay from now on.

Liam’s going to make sure of it.


End file.
